Indian Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday claimed that three men killed in a gun battle in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) had Pakistani voter identity cards and chocolates made in Pakistan.
“I want to tell … the entire nation that these were the three terrorists who killed our citizens … and now all three have been killed,” Shah told parliament during a discussion on the India-Pakistan conflict.
New Delhi said the attackers were Pakistani nationals. Islamabad has consistently denied the claim.
The men had opened fire in a valley in Pahalgam, a tourist area in IIOJK, and later fled into nearby forests.
Following the attack, India launched strikes on Pakistan. This led to four days of fighting between the two countries.
In May, Pakistan responded with Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos after India’s Operation Sindoor.
During the 87-hour conflict, Pakistan downed six Indian jets, including three Rafale, and many drones.
The war ended on May 10 after a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.
In parliament, Shah said Indian forces had found “a lot of proof” that the attackers were Pakistanis. He said two voter identity cards and chocolates made in Pakistan were recovered.
He added that forensic tests showed the rifles used matched those used in an April attack.
The Indian army said the three men were killed in a gun battle on Monday in a forest in IIOJK.
A day earlier, India launched a new operation named “Operation Mahadev”.
Sources told Azaad English that this operation is meant to cover India’s recent failures in its conflict with Pakistan.
They said Indian authorities are reviving fake encounters.
Under the plan, Pakistanis already held in Indian jails will be killed and declared as cross-border terrorists.
According to sources, these staged operations are aimed at weakening the freedom movement in IIOJK.
They also said the plan is being used to protect the political standing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Read more: “Which planet is the foreign minister sitting on?” Rahul Gandhi ridicules Indian foreign policy
